Australia ex Saturday Girl colt

Race entries

BIOGRAPHY: Hailing from a very blue blooded Coolmore family and bred to one of Coolmore’s longest standing stallions - AUSTRALIA, this loose moving colt was at the top of our shopping list on the Friday catalogue of Tattersalls Book 3. He was the nicest individual on offer, we felt, combined with a pedigree where the mare has already produced three horses rated 100 or above, we were pretty determined to secure him, so our final bid of 42,000gns was a couple of bids more than we’d imagined necessary, but necessary in the circumstances they were - Jed O’Keefe, who is a great judge, was the underbidder.

Tattersalls report on the better sales profiles and this colt was one that deserved column inches. They reported:

'Lot 1739: Middleham Park Racing is still at Tattersalls in force and the team goes to 42,000gns for this son of Australia, a half-brother to the Vintage Stakes (G3) third-placed Room Key. The colt was consigned by Baroda Stud.

Tim Palin of Middleham Park was given speaking duties after purchase and he said: "He is lovely colt, the stallion gets results, the mare has produced three very talented horses, he is probably as nice a horse we have seen in this session. We were deliberating and we went a bit more than we had planned."

When explaining the attraction of this colt, who has a bit more of a stamina influence in his pedigree, for Middleham Park, which is perhaps better known for speedy horses, Palin said: "We are mixing it up a bit, and buying a few horses with more middle-distance profiles as they have good residual value – if he gets to rating of 85 or 95, he could be worth a bit further down the line.

"He will probably go to a Newmarket trainer who will bring him along nice and steadily – probably give him a few handful of runs at two and train him essentially with a three-year-old career in mind."

Watch his profile video, here:

He heads to up and coming Newmarket trainer, James Ferguson, son of Sheikh Mohammed’s long-time adviser for around a couple of decades, John Ferguson. He’s a very patient trainer and has done particularly well since taking out a licence 3 years, or so, ago, with Group 2 winner DEAUVILLE LEGEND probably his most recognised horse to date, alongside the likes of Diderot, Zoology, Bague D’Or and, of course, the Group 1 Grand Criterium winning 2yo EL BODEGAN. He’s excelled with progeny of the great Australia, most notably this season’s CANBERRA LEGEND, so where better send him, we thought?

Whether he’s a handicapper or a Group horse, he’s in a great place at James’ Kremlin Cottage Stables on the Bury Road, ideally situated for the famous Warren Hill gallops and the Al Bahathri galloping grounds. We’re certain than every ounce of ability will be carefully nurtured on James’ watch.

He’s a really good-sized colt who should progress nicely as a 2yo - he is a half-brother to a horse who placed as a 2yo in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood - his career culminating, we’d imagine, as a 3yo, where we hope he can contest high quality races should he match any one of his 100+ rated siblings’ abilities. Even, were he to fall a little short of that, e.g. into the 80’s or 90’s he’d prove a very lucrative asset for either a sale to race in Australia, ironically, or to the jumps’ fraternity either this, or the other side of the Irish Sea. He could easily, in such circumstances, sell for £150-£250,000 - that’s the beauty of owning a progressive middle-distance horse in training, in this country i.e. you have options to race on in search of big prize money pots, many of which are £100,000 added, or to cash in and roll the dice again.

Hugely exciting! Can he become another ‘LEGEND’ for James and his team, and indeed for us too?

His racing name will be Shabu Shabu.

LATEST VIDEO UPDATES:

Narrated video from James Ferguson, April 13th:

From James Ferguson, March 14th:

March 3rd:

On the gallops, February 8th:

On the gallops, January 15th:

Team parade update:

Parading on January 14th:

30th November:

2nd November: